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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Porsche Accusing VW of Spying on Porsche CEO

It looks like Cold War-style intrigue is back in Germany. In a case of apparent corporate espionage, while on a visit to Volkswagen's headquarters in Wolfsburg, the hotel room of Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking was found to be bugged.

According to a report in the German magazine Der Spiegel, last year a private security firm discovered an activated baby monitor hidden behind a couch in Wiedeking's room at the Wolfsburg Ritz Carlton, just a day before a meeting of the supervisory board of Volkswagen AG. State police in Lower Saxony have confirmed they are investigating a complaint filed by Porsche with prosecutors in Braunschweig, but have declined to say who it is against.

Porsche currently owns 31 percent of Volkswagen, but has been angling for some time to gain a controlling stake in the automaker. However slightly more than 20 percent of VW is in the hands of the Lower Saxony government, and the two are locked in a battle over a rule requiring that "significant decisions" regarding the company have the approval of 80 percent of shareholders, plus one share, rather than a simple majority.

Considering how easy it is to get hold of professional quality wiretapping equipment these days, the use of the microphone end of a baby monitor doesn't smack of professional work. Hopefully the amateur spies will soon be apprehended, but regardless, Porsche's attempt to acquire VW will no doubt continue as planned.